Whether a marketing campaign or a museum exhibit, a video game or a complex control system, the design we see is the culmination of many concepts and practices brought together from a variety of disciplines. Because no one can be an expert on everything, designers have always had to scramble to find the information and knowhow required to make a design work—until now. Universal Principles of Design is the first comprehensive, crossdisciplinary encyclopedia of design. Richly illustrated and easy to navigate, it pairs clear explanations of every design concept with visual examples of the concepts applied in practice. From the 8020” rule to chunking, from babyface bias to Occams razor, and from selfsimilarity to storytelling, every major design concept is defined and illustrated for readers to expand their knowledge. This landmark reference will become the standard for designers, engineers, architects, and students who seek to broaden and improve their design expertise.
[...]... will be successful Use Universal Principles of Design as a resource to increase your cross-disciplinary knowledge and understanding of design, promote brainstorming and idea generation for design problems, and refresh your memory of design principles that are infrequently applied Finally, use it as a means of checking the quality of your design process and product A paraphrase of William Strunk’s famous... The best designers sometimes disregard the principles of design When they do so, however, there is usually some compensating merit attained at the cost of the violation Unless you are certain of doing as well, it is best to abide by the principles William Lidwell Kritina Holden Jill Butler Introduction 13 80/20 Rule A high percentage of effects in any large system are caused by a low percentage of variables.1... the presentation of attractive women is a key element of a design, use renderings or images of women with waist-to-hip ratios of approximately 0.70, accented by culturally appropriate augmentations of sexual features When the presentation of attractive men is a key element of a design, use renderings or images of men with waist-to-hip ratios of approximately 0.90, and visible indicators of wealth or status... reversible actions and safety nets to minimize the consequence of errors (e.g., the ability to undo an action) See also Affordance, Forgiveness, Legibility, Normal Distribution, and Readability 16 Universal Principles of Design 1 Also known as barrier-free design and related to universal design and inclusive design 2 The four characteristics of accessible designs are derived from W3C Web Content Accessibility... the right of the text, and provide elaborations and references The right-hand page contains visual examples and related graphics to support a deeper understanding of the principle Sound design is not only within the reach of a small set of uniquely talented individuals, but can be achieved by virtually all designers The use of wellestablished design principles increases the probability that a design will... traffic is on 20 percent of its roads 80 percent of a company’s revenue comes from 20 percent of its products 80 percent of innovation comes from 20 percent of the people 80 percent of progress comes from 20 percent of the effort 80 percent of errors are caused by 20 percent of the components The 80/20 rule is useful for focusing resources and, in turn, realizing greater efficiencies in design For example,... example, Elements of Graph Design by Stephen M Kosslyn, W H Freeman and Company, 1994, p 172 Although there are a number of problems with the design of the butterfly ballot, most of the confusion resulted from the misalignment of the rows and punch-hole lines This conclusion is supported by the improbable number of votes for Patrick Buchanan in Palm Beach County, and the number of double votes that... the brilliant application of archetypal theme and form—parched earth, snakelike earthworks, and claws and thorns—to warn future humans of the radioactive hazards on an affective, instinctive level Archetypes 29 Area Alignment Alignment based on the area of elements versus the edges of elements With the advent of professional design and engineering software, elements in a design can be aligned with... gains that are often offset by the introduction of errors or new problems into the system All elements in a design are not created equal Use the 80/20 rule to assess the value of elements, target areas of redesign and optimization, and focus resources in an efficient manner Noncritical functions that are part of the less-important 80 percent should be minimized or removed altogether from the design When... environments in abstract contexts (e.g., software interfaces) to imply the way in which new systems can be used When affordances are successfully employed in a design, it will seem inconceivable that the design could function or be used otherwise See also Constraint, Desire Line, Mapping, and Nudge 22 Universal Principles of Design 1 The seminal work on affordances is “The Theory of Affordances” by James Gibson, . cost of the violation. Unless you are certain of doing as well, it is best to abide by the principles. William Lidwell Kritina Holden Jill Butler Introduction 13 14 Universal Principles of Design 80/20. design principles increases the probability that a design will be successful. Use Universal Principles of Design as a resource to increase your cross-disciplinary knowledge and understanding of design, . y0 w1 h1" alt="" Universal Principles of Design William Lidwell Kritina Holden Jill Butler 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions,